


Jeon Woong just wants some love

by peachybreeze



Category: AB6IX (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, Group Cuddles, Light Angst, M/M, Maybe some angst, Morning Cuddles, Multi, Nightmares, Platonic Relationships, Sleepy Cuddles, Very very fluffy, Yes angst, sad jeon woong, woong just wants some love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22187062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachybreeze/pseuds/peachybreeze
Summary: There are always times that Woong just needs a little love and cuddles and maybe just a pat on the head.
Relationships: Everyone/Everyone, Jeon Woong & Everyone, Jeon Woong/Everyone, Jeon Woong/Kim Donghyun, Jeon Woong/Lee Daehwi, Jeon Woong/Lim Youngmin, Jeon Woong/Park Woojin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 86





	1. Just a bad dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeon Woong didn't always have nightmares. But every time he did have one, it kept him up the rest of the night.

_Woong was lost. Darkness surrounded him and nothing could be seen. It made no difference to open or close his eyes, walk forward or backward, it was as if he was stuck in one place._

_"Useless." The voice echoes. "Worthless." "Undeserving." "Waste of space." Each getting louder and louder. He crouched down, covering his ears. Frustration began to build into tears and down they fell. Shouting into the void became his only defense. "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"_

_He wanted to run. Collecting his breath, hands on his knees, he pushed himself up and ran. The voices got louder._

_"Why are you here?" "Did you really deserve to debut?" "Talentless."_

_The ground began to feel sticky, lifting his legs became difficult. The words solidified in front of his eyes. Floating. Just floating around him in big red letters. "Does AB6IX really need you?" The ground became water and Woong sank. He flailed around reaching for anything that would help him go back up. A mass wrapped around his throat and his eyes dragging him down, taking his last breath._

He jolted awake. His lungs felt like they were on fire and tears soaked his shirt. The time on the clock read 3:18 AM. Woojin was still asleep, softly snoring from across the room. Woong took a deep breath in and got up from bed making his way towards the door. The sound of his slippers echoed in the hallway as he headed towards the living room. 

Sitting on the couch, he brought his knees to his chest and cried. He deserved to be here, right? He wasn't a burden, his members didn't hate him. They loved him? These thoughts clouded his mind and he cried even harder, slapping his hand over his mouth to not wake anyone else up. Time flew by and he finally fell asleep.

8:00AM. Practice was at 10. Donghyun got up from bed waking up Daehwi on his way to the bathroom. A lump on the couch caught his eye. It was Woong. Puffy eyed Woong. There was something wrong.  
"Woong hyung. Woongie hyung please wake up." He opened his eyes to Donghyun in his face and quickly shut them to avoid a conversation. 

"Hyung you can't just hide from me. Now tell me what you were doing out here instead of in bed." Donghyun continuously poked him. 

Woong just groaned trying to come up with a believable lie. "Woojin turned the heater on too high and snores too loud so I came out here to sleep. It felt better out here." The younger looked skeptical, but believed it nonetheless and ruffled his hair. 

"Can you wake up the other two and tell them to get ready? I'm going to wash up real quick and start on breakfast." Woong quickly agreed already on the way to his room. He threw a pillow at Woojin making him fall off the bed. "Hyung what the h-" "Donghyun is making breakfast get ready for practice at 10." 

He walked away to go to Youngmin's room. The older was snoring, his foot stuck out the blanket and scratching his tummy. Woong took hold of the blanket and yanked hard. “YAH JEON WOONG!” “Practice is at 10. Donghyun is making breakfast.” 

He started the set up the table while the others trickled in, sitting down when he finished. Donghyun set down a plate of scrambled eggs. "Eat lightly we're going to be learning a new choreo. I don't need anyone getting sick in the practice room." Woong picked at the eggs and only took small bites. The bun in his hand was only nibbled on. 

Everyone else made light conversation discussing the comeback schedule and whatnot. Woong was spacing out _Do you? Do you really deserve to be here?_ "-ready? Woong?" Youngmin questioned. "Huh. Oh yeah I'm ready. Let me go get my hoodie then we can go." Woong pushed himself away from the table and ran to his room. 

"Is hyung okay?" No one answered Woojin and just got ready to go.

Practice started normally. They warmed up to a few songs, including Gashina at the request of Daehwi. The choreographer came by to teach the new dance. Woong understood and followed along, only stumbling on a few steps. But of course nothing could go perfectly. 

His couple hours of sleep caught up to him and he struggled. During the second verse, he stumbled too much enough for the choreographer to notice. "Woong what is wrong with you? You've missed so many steps. You were fine earlier, why are you like this now? Don't you see that everyone else is trying hard? Do better." Do better. Do better Woong. Insecurity rammed its ugly head back into his mind. There you go again being a burden. Just move your feet and your arms, what is so hard? Your singing is mediocre at the most, at least make it up with your dancing idiot. He shook his head "I can do it, I promise. Let's run through it again."

They ran through it. Three more times. He only missed one step on the last run through and the choreographer deemed it enough for the day. 

"Good job everyone! We'll work on the chorus tomorrow and the dance break later this week." He turned toward the second eldest. "Woong please work on the last move and make sure you have everything down for tomorrow we don't want to hold everyone back." See even he sees you're holding them back. You don't deserve to be here. Everyone looked at him with concern. All he could do was lift his hood over his head and gather his things. Youngmin cleared his throat, "Let's go home. We can pick up some food on the way. Chicken?" Woojin quickly gathered his things and rushed towards the door "Let's goooooo!"

Woong could only pretend at this point. He laughed at all of Youngmin's lame jokes. Sang along to songs with Daehwi. When they finally made it back to the dorm, he beelined to the bathroom to shower. The warmth made him feel better, but it was only temporary. Leaving the bathroom, he almost ran into Donghyun. "Oh hey hyung. Are you feeling better?" Woong smiled, "Yeah I'm feeling better. That shower relaxed me." "That's good. Make sure you rest well tonight." 

He nodded and made his way to his and Woojin's room. Woojin sat on his bed, headphones over his ears probably working on a new track. Woong said a quiet goodnight and slipped into bed facing towards the wall, hoping for a peaceful night.

It didn't come. The same dream happened except the others were in it. Each of them looked at him with dead eyes. 

_Why can't you keep up with us Jeon Woong? Sing better. Dance better. BE BETTER. You're holding us back. We don't need you. You need us._

_They all walked away from him. He quickly tried to keep up but the ground held him in place as the words solidified in front of him. WE. DON'T. NEED. YOU. He sank, reaching out to his members. His family. "Please come back. I promise I'll be better."_

He jolted awake once again. 2:47AM. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't deal with seeing that again. They loved him. They wanted him here. He wasn't holding them back. Right? He tiptoed quietly to the living room staring out the window. It was snowing. He wished he could be snow. To just fall and melt away, no cares in the world. 

He continued to sit by the window losing track of time. 7:23AM. Donghyun would wake up soon. Might as well get started on everything. He started up the coffee machine and took ingredients out of the fridge for fried rice. As he was cutting the green onions, Donhyun walked in, yawning and stretching. "Oh good morning hyung! You're up early." Woong only slightly smiled. "Yeah I went to sleep a little early so I woke up a bit earlier than expected." "Makes sense. I'll go wash up then I'll help with the cooking."

Breakfast went by quickly. Getting Youngmin up took a while so they all rushed. Woong had by then consumed three cups of coffee and only a banana. The choreographer was already there when they got to the practice room. 

"We'll do quick warm ups and jump straight into it. Are you guys okay with that?" The boys quickly agreed and got straight to it. 

The chorus would have to be the easiest thing to do is what Woong would say if he had proper sleep and nutrition. Woong had no sleep and only a banana and caffeine in his system. The chorus was killing him. His limbs felt heavy and his head was pounding. The boys were watching him struggle and stumble from the corners of their eyes. Their teacher huffed, "Let's take a break." 

Woong dropped to the ground trying to catch his breath. They all surrounded him with various looks of concern. "Guys I'm fine. The choreo is just a bit challenging and I'm old like Youngmin hyung." he explained. Daehwi cackled and Youngmin hit his arm.

"I'm not even that old! There's two years between us Woong how could you say that?" Youngmin pouted. Woong looked around to see the others laughing, except Donghyun. They made eye contact and if it was like he knew why Woong was having a hard time. "You'll be fine hyung. Now move, I have to go to the bathroom."

On the way to the bathroom, he bought a canned coffee gulping it down to try and stay awake enough to be aware and get the choreo down. Unknowingly, Donghyun followed him out and into the bathroom. "Why were you really up hyung?"

Woong ended up banging his hand into the faucet. "You didn't have to scare me like that! I already told you why I was up Hyun."

"So why are you drinking so much coffee? If you really got good rest you wouldn't be like this."

Woong looked down at his hands. He knew he couldn't lie to the person he was closest with. "It was just a bad dream. Nothing more. Hyung is okay. I'll get more sleep tonight and we can go out for breakfast tomorrow." He walked around Donghyun rushing towards the practice room.

Getting back into the choreo was easy. He had more energy so he did better. The teacher didn't scold him this time and he felt happy. His head was still pounding but he made it through. On the other hand, Donghyun was still looking at him and it made him anxious. This was his issue, why was Donghyun so invested.

By the time they got back to the dorm, Woong was on the verge of passing out. The caffeine wore off and he was bound to crash. He slowly made his way to the table for dinner, the leftovers from breakfast. Shoveling it into his mouth felt like a chore. His eyelids wouldn't stay up. He excused himself and immediately went to bed falling asleep right on top of the blankets. After having the two youngest clean up the plates, Donghyun went to check on Woong. He squinted at the older man before tucking him in under the blanket giving him a light forehead kiss before heading out a turning off the light.

_There was light this time. Not enough, only to see three feet ahead. There were his members, staring at him with the same cold dead eyes from the night before. He walked towards them, only to have them step back._

_"Do you understand how much you held us back today? The teacher had to call for a break not even us. You're a deadweight. You don't belong with us. They shouldn't have stuck you with us. You're nothing but a burden."_

_Woong could only stand in place as he heard blood rushing in his ears. He felt like making himself smaller, nonexistent. The ground quickly shifted into water but this time he didn't sink. He was held down. Through the water he could see it was his own members. "We. Don't. Need. You." was repeated over and over until he took his last breath._

He sobbed this time waking up. He couldn't breathe. He ran to the living room, dragging his blanket behind him and sat on the couch wrapped in said blanket. Tears ran freely and pitiful hiccups came out as he sobbed his heart out. He tried to muffle the noise not wanting to bother anyone. It hurt. His head hurt. His lungs hurt. His heart. That hurt the most. 

He didn't hear someone open and close a door. Out stepped Donghyun. "Woong hyung? What's wrong, why are you crying?" Woong shook his head continuing to sob. Donghyun sat beside him moving the hair out his face, trying to comfort the crying man. He unwrapped the blanket, bringing Woong into his lap and wrapped the blanket around them.

"Hyung, I need you to tell me what's wrong." Woong once again shook his head, burying his face into Donghyun's shoulder.

After ten minutes of having his back rubbed and head petted, Woong's sobs reduced to hiccups. Donghyun continued to run his fingers up and down his back trying to coerce anything out of his hyung. "Can you tell me now? I only want to help make you feel better." 

And out it came. The past three nights all spilled out in a matter of five minutes. Woong felt his heart start to ache again and tears started welling up again. "Hey hey hey No more of that. I hate seeing you cry." He wiped his tears and continued, "You are a part of AB6IX. No if ands or buts. You are Jeon Woong of AB6IX, our baby even though you're the second oldest. We love you hyung. You are not a burden, don't you dare ever say that again."

Woong took this time to interrupt, "But I hold you guys back. I struggle with my dancing, my voice is average. I'm not as good as you guys! I just want to make you guys proud of me..." 

Donghyun forced Woong to look up. "We are the most proud of you. You've been through so much and worked so hard to get here. You deserve your spot here. You are loved by all of us and ABNEWs. We all struggle with those things, but what should we do? Work harder. Progress ourselves because that's the only way we can become the best versions of ourselves. We're all working together as AB6IX, as a family to become the best. Don't ever forget that. We love you Woong Hyung."

His heart stopped aching, but swelled. A weight lifted off of his shoulders and he felt happy. "Let's go back to bed hm?" 

He let Donghyun take him back to the younger's room and tuck him in bed beside him. The younger wrapped his arms around him and gave him a kiss on the crown of his head. "Sleep." He was content. He wasn't a burden. He deserved to be a part of this family. He was loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH. This is my first ff and I hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Late night vibes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is busy and Woong just honestly wants some cuddles darn it.

The day was a full schedule and it was time to wind down and recover. The problem was that Woong was bored. There was nothing to do. He already cleaned his room and did laundry and ate. The games weren’t entertaining enough and youtube got boring after three videos.

So he did what he did best; pout and sulk around until one of the members paid attention. He huffed and got from bed, wrapping the blanket around himself and covered his head. As he walked around, only keyboard sounds and light footsteps could be heard. The dorm was relatively quiet for 8 PM, which was a surprise considering Daehwi exists. 

Youngmin walked by towards the front door and Woong grabbed his arm throwing a pout in because why not.

“Hyung! Where are you going?” Youngmin brought up his hand to pat the younger’s head. “Manager hyung called for a meeting at the company. I’ll be back a bit later, okay?”

That did not erase the pout if anything it deepened it. Youngmin softly laughed and ruffled his hair. “Go find the other members, okay?” Woong could only nod and wish him farewell. The problem arose once again, he was still bored. Walking into Donghyun’s room, he noticed said owner wasn’t there. 

“Daehwi-ah, where’s Donghyun?”

“He went to the practice room saying he needed to correct some things and practice some more.” the younger replied without looking up from his laptop.

“Oh.” He wasn’t disappointed. He wasn’t. Really. Just kind of irked. He walked up to the younger’s bed. “Can I stay with you then?” gripping the blanket tighter.

“Sorry Hyung. I really have to finish this assignment. It’s due in a couple hours.” Woong felt bad now. Everyone was busy, he shouldn’t bother them. Maybe he should just go back to his room and sleep, they did have a schedule but it was in the evening. There wasn’t a need to sleep early. Should he just go take a walk? That was too much of a hassle. “I’ll play games with you tomorrow okay? Don’t be sad hyung.” That made him feel a little bit better. He gave a small smile to Daehwi, “Okay. I’ll leave you to your assignment then.”

He couldn’t blame his members. If they were busy then they were busy. There was no point in interrupting them. Walking out, he passed by the living room. There was Woojin with headphones over his ears and hands on his laptop. He looked busy. But Woong just wanted to stay with someone. He shouldn’t bother him, he’s probably working on tracks for the next comeback. Cuddles would just be great right now. _Stop being so needy. Everyone needs to relax. You just had a full day of events._ “-yung? Are you okay?” He spaced out. Woojin looked at him with concern. “You’ve been standing there for a few minutes now. Do you need something?”

“CanIstaywithyou?” Woong really didn’t mean to sound desperate. He felt the blood rush to his face. 

“What? Speak a bit slower.”

“Can I stay with you? I promise I'll be quiet. You won’t notice that I'm here.” he asked softly.

“Of course hyung. You look a little down. Wanna tell me what’s up?” Woong perked up right away and practically ran to the couch dragging his blanket behind him. He hopped into the spot next to the younger and set his head on his shoulder. 

“I just didn’t want to bother anyone is all. You guys are all busy and I didn’t want to ruin that. But I just wanted to stay with someone and have company is all.”

Woojin just patted his cheek and laughed. “You’re so selfless hyung, but you wouldn’t bother anyone. Just sitting as we are you aren’t hindering my work. It’s okay to come to us.” Woong pouted. “But Daehwi didn’t let me sit with him. He said that it was an important assignment that was due in a couple hours.” Woojin had a thoughtful look on his face. “Hmm. I don’t really know what to say about him, but you were being considerate. But just know you can come to me whenever.” He felt the blood rush to his face again and a quiet thank you came out.

“Anyways. Do you wanna listen to some of the demos? Hwi helped with some of them.” Woong only nodded against his shoulder. The younger unplugged the headphones to allow the music to play out loud. The first track sounded dark. The low bass and notes all tied in with Woojin’s low tone rapping. The lyrics sounded desperate. Desperate to be bigger, more known, better, but also to be normal. To not have so many cameras pointed at his face only to see the flash when a picture or video is taken. To be able to walk outside at any time of the day without having to wear a hat and mask and worry about being mobbed. There was an ache in his chest. Woong looked up and Woojin only had his eyes closed, bobbing his head to the beat. 

“Are you sad Woojin?” Woojin opened his eyes looking down at the older. “Sometimes. I won’t lie and say no. There are just times I’d like to breathe without a camera in my face. But there are also times where I do enjoy the cameras and the lights. My words are being shared and heard. Our music is being spread and known. But it’s hard sometimes. I feel trapped in my head and it takes a while to get out of it most of the time. I don’t regret being apart of AB6IX, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You guys are the best thing of my life so far.” 

Woong thought for a bit staying quiet. After a minute or so he fully sat up and looked Woojin in the eye. “Just like you said for me to come to you, come to me if you ever feel like that. Whenever and wherever. I’m here for you. We can talk it out or just sit in silence just come to me and I’ll help however I can.” There were arms suddenly around his waist and a nod of acknowledgement against his shoulder. The unspoken thank you echoing in both their minds. Woojin pulled away searching for the next song to play. 

The second track was a lot brighter. It was the story of their debut. The training, the hardships, the waiting, and finally the first performance. The word he could pick up on the most, happiness. That’s how they all felt. All of them together as a group showing the world their colors and sound that made them them. He could hear a bit of Daehwi in the background doing subtle runs. He looked up again, this time a smile was on Woojin’s face. “This is my favorite of all the demos. I bet having all the members singing it would make it better.” Woong could only beam at him. “Play more!”

The next track was as bright as anything could be. It was about ABNEW. They were nothing without their fans. The amount of support and overwhelming love they got made their hearts swell. Their fans became the bigger part of their motivation, constantly pushing themselves to be better and grow. It expressed giving love back and appreciating what they had together. 

“I don’t have anymore demos just for us, but I do have some random solo ones if you want to listen to those?” Woong nodded slowly feeling the exhaustion from the day hit him.

Woojin’s voice was soothing. The richness of his low tone and the perfection of his flow on the beat was satisfying. It gave ease to Woong’s mind about the earlier events. While his voice was deep, Woojin was really soft. Although he never verbally expressed his feelings, he subtly showed them physically. This could range from putting his arm around a member’s shoulder to squeezing their hand or maybe just rubbing their back if they were upset. Everyone was grateful for him. 

Like now, Woojin patted the other’s thigh to the beat simultaneously relaxing him and keeping him awake. His solo tracks obviously fit him. The energy, the fierceness of the delivery, the softness of his slower rap. His music was him. 

The same cycle happened for the rest of the night. A track, Woong commenting, and Woojin taking notes. If was honestly helpful having Woong by his side. He had a great feel for music and understood everything he tried to portray. 

It was around midnight when exhaustion completely took Woong. Woojin had been looking through files for samples he wanted to use when Woong’s head slipped off his shoulder. With quick reflexes, he put his hand under to cushion. He slid his laptop a little farther down his legs to give room for the older to lay down without waking him up, pulling the blanket up to his shoulder. The younger plugged his headphones back in continuing to work. 

Almost an hour later, whimpers came from Woong. The other wouldn’t have noticed it over the music if he hadn’t began thrashing around. His arms tangled in the blanket and his breathing became erratic. Woojin couldn’t just wake him, he was afraid of hurting his hyung. He did what he knew best would calm the older, petting his hair and reassuring. He ran his fingers through the dark brown locks and quietly whispered reassurances. The whimpers died down, only the occasional twitch remained. He felt a pressure on his hand and looked down to see the older leaning into his touch with a content face. His shirt partly also in Woong’s grip. 

He continued working, this time keeping his headphones unplugged just in case. He continued to pet Woong’s hair and caress his cheek occasionally. Each time getting a noise of content from the sleeping man. He kept the volume low and mumbled his lyrics, moving from track to track until he was satisfied. His eyes gradually shutting as he blinked, head tipping back slowly. 

The signature beep of the door keypad broke the silence of the dorm. Donghyun stepped in first taking off his shoes and organizing the rest to create a clear path. Youngmin followed and locked the door. The younger slipped into his room presumably to sleep. He heard music which made him curious as to who was still awake. Walking through the hallway to the living room, he spotted the two sleeping men on the couch. Woojin had his head tipped back with one hand on Woong’s cheek. The other man cuddled around the younger’s arm softly snoring. The leader tiptoed around to the back of the couch to wake up the rapper. 

“Woojin-ah wake up. You can’t sleep here you’ll hurt your neck.” The latter took a quick and deep inhale and woke up to his hyung in his face. “Huh. When did you guys get back?”

“A few minutes ago. Donghyun decided to stay late and I didn’t want to leave him there by himself. Get up now we’ll get both of you to bed.” Youngmin placed his hands under Woong’s neck and knees. “Be gentle hyung. He had a nightmare earlier and he should sleep peacefully. Don’t wake him up. I’ll clean up here.” Woojin fussed. The eldest softly giggled and nodded in confirmation. 

The shared room wasn’t too far. Youngmin could hear its co-owner sorting and organizing the living room while the other laid in his arms. He set the younger down after moving the blankets out the way. He brought up the comforter tucking the sleeping man in and placed a light kiss on his forehead before bidding a goodnight. 

Woojin finished cleaning up and picked up his laptop heading to his room. He opened the door to see Woong against the wall holding a small pillow in his arms. He set down the laptop on his bed and shut off the light. With the blanket untucked, the younger slid in once again putting a hand to the other’s face caressing it and hoped for a peaceful night. He placed the other underneath his own head before he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it’s a bit short compared to the first chapter! I started uni this week so that’s why I took so long, but I hope you enjoyed soft woowoong! <3


	3. Maybe things will be better tomorrow,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's hard sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna be a little sad? I'm sorry if it makes you feel things or if you relate to it. But it's based on how things have been for me lately, but I'm better now so don't worry. It will be two parts and I already have how it's gonna play out in mind.

If you asked Woong if he was okay, he’d probably say that he doesn’t know. Everything just felt so off. He wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t sad either. He was empty.

The emptiness first started in his head. The days went by and he wasn’t able to really keep track of anything. It was all a blur. There wasn’t a lot he could remember. Wake up. Wash up. Eat. Practice, Go home. Wash up. Eat. Sleep. Over and over.

It was like his body was on autopilot and that he was sitting in a movie theater in his head watching everything. He couldn’t get up from his seat, his only option was to stare out of his eyes. Foreign was the feeling. When he looked down at his hands, they didn’t feel like his at all. There was a huge disconnect between him and his body and he couldn’t see a solution. 

The members noticed of course. The way his eyes were glazed over not focusing on anything. He wouldn’t respond to any of their questions extensively, just giving an offhand yes or no. How could they approach him? “Are you okay?” “What’s up hyung?” “Long day?”

In the end they didn’t. Jeon Woong was a mystery that they thought could solve itself. If he wanted help, he’d come to them or their manager. 

The boys were settling down for the night after a hard day of practice. The company allowed them to take a couple days off seeing that everything was done ahead of time. Recording didn’t take long and they had the choreography down. A little break wouldn’t hurt. 

They were excited to finally be able to relax. Setting their stuff down, each boy went to do their own thing. Woojin went to the fridge to get water. Youngmin went to his room to take a call. Donghyun went to wash up. 

“Hyung let’s watch a movie!” Woong looked up from his shoes. It felt like a delay in his mind. Everything felt slow. Daehwi looked at him with a look of hope in his eyes. The older man could only shake his head. “Sorry Hwi. I’m just gonna go to sleep. Ask the other boys hm?” 

There was a look of concern from Daehwi as he walked away. His hyung didn’t look like his usual self. These days there was always a lost look on his face, he did everything slowly like his body was heavy. Before he could say anything, the door to his room shut.

Woong put this bag down by the door, rubbing his face and sighed. 

Blink. 

He was in the bathroom now. Daehwi floated around the dorm asking for a movie night, the boys agreeing. Woojin wanted to watch some action movie that came out a couple weeks ago.. 

Blink. 

The warm water hit his head as he leaned on the shower tile. He could hear the water flowing on his ears, but his blood was louder. He still felt a disconnect. Here he was in his head watching himself again. The soap bubbles flowed down the drain, swirling clockwise before disappearing. 

Blink.

With a swipe of his hand, the condensation on the mirror was gone. His reflection stared back at him. The bags under his eyes were darker. His face seemed more sunken in. He saw his hand go up and lightly poke at his cheeks. He heard a roar from outside the door. _The movie must’ve started._

Blink.

He looked thin. _I should eat more._ Grabbing a random shirt from the shelf, he quickly tugged it on over his head.

Blink.

Woong just stared at the ceiling. He could hear the boys and their leader outside in the living room watching the movie. Their laughs echoed in his mind. _That should be me out there. I should be laughing with them._

9:07 PM is what his phone said. There was also a missed call from Hyunggu. He tapped the notification and started the call.

“Hyung! It’s been a while! How are you?” he could hear the excitement in the younger.

Woong softly smiled. “Hyunggu-ah! I’m doing pretty well. I heard you just finished promotions, Congrats! How are you?”

“I’m feeling great. My body is kind of sore, but it was worth it. What are you up to right now Hyung?” There was some chatter in the background. It sounded like Wooseok arguing with someone over a game again. They sounded familiar.

“Nothing really, the boys are watching a movie. Why?”

“We’re out celebrating you should come! Youngjo and his group are here too!” No wonder they sounded familiar. The other voice was Dongju.

He hesitated. “I don’t know… I feel like I’d be imposing. Maybe we can get together tomorrow? The company gave us a few days off.” 

Woong could practically hear his pout. “You wouldn’t be imposing Hyung. It’s a celebration! Just food and drinks and karaoke.”

A sigh came. “Sorry Hyunggu. I’m not really feeling it tonight.”

He could hear Hyunggu get up and step out of the room. “Is everything okay? Did something happen?”

“I’m okay Hyunggu-ah. Nothing happened. I just kind of wanna relax tonight. Practice took all my energy today.” He flipped over to face the wall.

“Are you sure? Do you need to talk or anything? I can step away for a bit.”

Woong quickly rejected the idea. “No no no! I’m all good Ki. Go celebrate you deserve it after all your hard work.”

“If you say so. How about we meet for lunch at the cafe? 3 PM?” he suggested.

“Sounds good! Now goooo. Have a fun night Hyunggu-ah.” he tried to put a positive tone in his voice.

Hyunggu huffed. “Fineeeeee. Goodnight Hyung!” 

He tossed his phone to the side and continued staring at the ceiling. He could still hear his members outside laughing. Why wasn’t he happy? Everything was going well for him. He debuted. He had comebacks. He improved in his dance and vocals. He had a new family to rely on. What was wrong? There wasn’t a reason to be sad. He wasn’t angry. He just felt empty, numb even.

Blink.

He turned his head and looked at the clock on Woojin’s desk. 3:27AM. Further down, he noticed said owner was not in his bed. Woong got up quietly opening his door and walked out to the kitchen. From there he could see the boys in the living room. Youngmin, Donghyun, and Woojin all laid on each other on the couch. Daehwi was on the floor, head resting on Donghyun’s knee. 

This is when it spread to his heart.

He felt his heart ache. _They look so peaceful. Would they have been the same without me? No. Don’t think like that. They love you. Right?_

He ignored the emptiness in favor of putting the boys to bed. He went to Daehwi first catching his head before it slipped off of Donghyun’s knee. The maknae jolted awake and looked around, disoriented. “Let’s go to bed Hwi.” Woong struggled to put the younger on his back, inducing a whine out of the sleepy man. Using his foot to open the door, he carefully dropped Daehwi on his bed and tucked him in. 

Woojin sat up and rubbed his eyes, spotting his hyung coming out of Daehwi’s room. “Hey hyung. What time is it?” He quickly looked up in surprise. “Woojin you’re awake. It’s almost four. Help me get them to bed?” His roommate yawned and nodded. Grabbing Donghyun’s arm he put it over his shoulder and Woong grabbed the other. They both dragged the man to his room, placing him on the bed and threw the blanket over him. 

Youngmin was the hardest to move. He was the tallest and the lankiest and would absolutely not cooperate. They got him into bed eventually after the leader berated them and flailed about in his sleep. Woojin had bid a goodnight to Woong while the older made his way to the kitchen. 

He opened the cabinet bringing out a mug to warm up some milk. A dollop of honey and a dash of cinnamon. It was the perfect sleep remedy. After he finished, he placed the mug in the sink and walked back to his room, sliding back under his blanket into unconsciousness.

The next morning or afternoon really was okay. He woke up at one and stayed in bed for another hour until he had to get ready. Woojin was still asleep when he walked out of the bathroom. Woong just stared and thought. This was Park Woojin. His second youngest. One of the most talented people he’s ever met. Someone he looked up to. He couldn’t compare. He wasn’t as good as Woojin. He wasn’t talented like him. His chest began to ache again. He turned away and put on his clothes quickly stepping out of the room. 

He heard music coming from the other bathroom and someone singing along with it. Probably Daehwi. He wrote down a quick note about where he was going and left it on the counter. Slipping on his shoes, he opened the front door and walked out. The walk to the cafe wasn’t farther, just three streets over. When he got to the stairs, Hyunggu had spotted him and waved him over from the window. A smile appeared on his face and he walked towards the table. 

“Woongie Hyung!” The boys hugged and laughed.

“Mr. Kinnovation how are you?” he said with a big smile. 

“Good good. Sit please.” Hyunggu gestured to the chair across from him. “What do you want? I’ll order it for you.”

“Just a watermelon juice! I heard it’s really good from here.” 

“Okay! I’ll be right back.”

He watched Hyunggu walk away with a walk in his step. _I wish I was like that. Peppy and happy. Hell, what is wrong with me these days?_ He came back with a buzzer and sat down. “So hyung, how are you these days? We haven’t hung out since before your last comeback.” A pout was present on his face. 

Woong softly laughed. “I know I know but it’s just been really busy. My solo music. The group’s music. Everything is just happening right before my eyes. How was your celebration last night?”

“I get it. I’ve been working on my own music too. People are listen-”

Blink. 

“-ung? Hyung? Hello hyung are you okay?” Hyunggu waved his hand in front of his face. 

“Huh? Yeah I’m here. You mentioned your music?” He tried to smile and laugh it off. 

His friend’s eyebrows were scrunched and there was a concerned look. He sat back and looked at the older. “What’s going on Hyung? I can tell something is up with you.”

Woong looked to the side and quietly responded, “I’m just tired Kino. There’s a comeback coming up.” 

An eyebrow rose. “Tired how? You look like you’ve slept well. Come on hyung, I’m your friend not your company staff. Just talk to me.”

“It’s just hard to describe.” He began to curl up, hugging himself and closing his legs. Hyunggu leaned forward and moved the drinks out the way. He took the older’s hand which made him look up. “Can you try? For me?” Woong searched his face for a joke. There was nothing but genuine concern.

“I don’t feel happy, but I don’t feel sad. I’m not mad at anything. Everything is going pretty well for me. I don’t know what I’m feeling. It’s all just there or I’m just numb.” He hugged himself tighter. Insecurity started clawing its way back into his mind. He felt uncomfortable. “These past two weeks have felt like I was on autopilot. Like I’m sitting in my head and watching a movie starring my body just moving. I feel disconnected from everything and everyone. It feels lke I’m standing in the middle and everyone is just zooming by me. I don’t move forward or back, I’m just stuck.” 

Hyunggu opened his mouth but closed it after a few seconds. “Fuck.” He was surprised to see tear stains on his sleeve, but continued on. “I barely remember the last two weeks. I blink once and all of a sudden I’m in a whole new place or doing something new. A few days ago we were just getting to practice and when I blinked practice was done. I was out of breath and sweating so much.”

Hyunggu quickly switched sides and brought Woong into a hug. “Hey. It’s okay. Everything is okay. I understand how you feel Hyung. I’ve been there.” He brought his sleeves down and began to wipe the tears off of the other’s face.

“The amount of times I’ve been in your place has been too much. You feel so trapped in your own mind that you start blocking out everything.” The grip on his sweater tightened. “You have to let the feelings back in Hyung. I don’t know whether it’s stress or if something happened. But I do know that it’s hard. You wake up and see that you’ve missed so much and don’t remember experiencing it.” He felt a nod against his shoulder.

“To me, it felt like I just shouldn’t have existed. I didn’t participate in anything, production or choreo. Jinho hyung was doing his covers. Hui hyung was producing and building our tracks. Everyone was just doing something and improving on themselves and here I was doing nothing. What did I have to contribute? So I shut myself down. I put myself on autopilot and just ran with it. Then Hyojong hyung left and I realized that we all needed each other more than ever. I finally cried. I poured every single ounce of emotion that I could muster into crying. My ugly thoughts, my happy thoughts, all of it.”

Woong took a deep breath before shifting back. “Did you feel better afterwards?”

“Surprisingly yeah. I cried a lot with Yuto. I don’t want to call Hyojong hyung leaving an excuse to cry but it just helped everything come out you know. Everything that had built up beforehand and that I blocked off. Yeah it felt bad of course. I was sad, but it was a relief to feel something other than empty for once. It’s all a part of life Hyung. The bad the good the ups and downs it’s all a part of being a human.”

He nodded and wiped his nose and eyes. “Hyung. Just talk to your members. Don’t be like me and wait for months. They’re there for you just as much as you are for them. They’re a family that you built together so lean on them. Don’t suffer by yourself.” 

He nodded once again. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow. Thank you Hyunggu, really. I’m here for you too if you want to talk about anything. Enough of all this sappy talk, tell me about the party.”

“Dude Geonhak hyung got totally wasted and started dancing on the table and Wooseok and Hwi hyung were throwing money at him.”

They stayed at the cafe for a couple more hours until Hyunggu had to return back to his dorm. Something about Wooseok getting stuck in the bed frame. It wasn’t too late, so he decided to go on a walk in the meantime. Woong took it slow of course to take in his friend’s advice. He was scared. What would his members think? Would they help or ignore it? There were too many possible results to account for. It was making his head hurt. He shook his head and kept moving. 

Sitting on the swings at the nearby playground, he just stared at the sky. The sunset caused a gradient in the sky and the clouds looked like cotton candy. He smiled genuinely. One of the first in the past two weeks. 

He headed back to the dorms before it got too dark. He tapped in the passcode and slipped off his shoes. He could hear Daehwi and Woojin fighting over the remote in the living room. Donghyun was humming to himself in the kitchen. He heard the door to his left open and out stepped Youngmin. “Ah. Welcome back home Woong-ah.” He smiled at his leader.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm back after a month. Things have been busy with uni and graduation and all that stuff. Hopefully I'll be more active after finals end!


	4. as long as I have you guys.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a part two and ending of maybe things will be better tomorrow,

The leader looked at him with such a fond look. His heart kind of fluttered, but no one needed to know that. A hand reached out to fluff his hair and caress his cheek, which he leaned into. “Did you have fun while you were out Woong? Is Kino doing well?” Woong nodded and smiled. “Yup! We just went to a cafe and their watermelon juice is so good! We have to go there sometime.”

There it was. The smile, a genuine one. Youngmin hasn’t seen it in two weeks. _He must be feeling better._ “I’m gonna go wash up now. I’ll see you at the table hyung.” The older nodded watching Woong walk past and into his room. _Will he talk to us about it?_

Woong set his keys and phone down on the desk, taking a seat on his bed. Throwing himself back, he looked at the ceiling. The ache in his chest made itself present at the thought of actually talking to his members about how he has been feeling the past few weeks. He knew Hyunggu was right, he couldn’t just keep it bottled up and eventually explode. It was going to do more harm than good, he knew that. It was just that he couldn’t. He didn’t want to ruin what they already had and built up in the past year. 

He huffed and set his arm over his eyes. A knock came at the door, Daehwi’s head popping in. 

“Hey hyung, bathroom’s free. Everyone already used it so you don’t need to rush.” He gave a small smile to the youngest. “Yeah I’ll use it in a bit, just need to relax for a second.” Daehwi nodded. Woong closed his eyes, setting his arm back to its original place. He heard the door click assuming the other left. The bed dipped beside him and a poke came to his nose. 

“Hyung.” A hum came from the older. “Did you enjoy your day? You were out for a while.” Daehwi pulled his arm off of his face, making him sit up. “Yeah. I met up with Hyunggu at the new cafe a few streets away. We talked about a lot. They had a party last night with ONEUS.” 

The younger’s eyes lit up at the mention of the party. “Sounds like they had fun! We should have a party after this comeback.” He got a soft smile and a hair ruffle. “We’ll see Hwi.” 

“I bet Changgu hyung probably broke something.” Woong shook his head and laughed. “Nope it was Geonhak. He was on the table and danced too hard. But he’s okay though, just a little bruise on his hip.” Daehwi threw his head back laughing with his full chest. 

“Imagine seeing that in person. I feel so bad for laughing. Did you do anything else afterwards?” The older nodded. “Hyunggu had to leave after a while, Wooseok got stuck. I walked to the park down the street and watched the sunset. It was so pretty, the clouds were pink and orange and the gradient of the pastel purple was beautiful. I wish I took pictures.” 

“It sounds so peaceful. I wish I was there. All of us actually, like a picnic or something!” Daehwi grabbed his hand out of excitement. Woong agrees. _All of them would enjoy it. Maybe one day after the comeback._  
“So… what’s been on your mind Hyung? Are you feeling better.” This was it. The ache in his chest bloomed again and his breath quickened. “What do you mean Hwi?” He took his hand back and fumbled with his fingers in his lap. 

“You’ve been… off? You always had this blank look on your face and haven’t been hanging with us lately.” Big eyes stared him down. _So they noticed?_ “I just noticed that you smiled today and seem to be in a better mood. I wanted to talk to you last week, but Youngmin hyung said you’d come to us when you were ready.”

Woong slowly nodded. Thoughts were running, responses rotating in his head. “I am feeling better. At least in comparison to the past few weeks. The talk with Hyunggu really opened my eyes and explained a lot.” 

He heard Daehwi take a few seconds before asking, “Are you ready to talk about it with us? Wait no. Do you even want to talk to us about it?” He quickly looked up in surprise and shook his head. “Of course I want to talk to you guys about it! You guys are my family and deserve to know. I just wanted to get my head straight before I did.” He didn’t want to leave them out ever. 

“Hyung, I wasn’t pressuring you or anything. I just wanted to make sure you were okay enough to talk. If you wanted to of course.” Woong sighed and nodded. “We can talk after dinner, okay? Thanks for checking up on me.” He caressed the younger’s cheek then flicked his forehead. “Now get out. I don’t trust you in here with my clothes while I go shower.” He pouted up at his elder rubbing his forehead. “I wasn’t gonna do anything…your sweaters are just really comfy.” he muttered under his breath. The younger got up and opened the door, turning back and stuck his tongue out. 

Woong got his towel and made his way to the bathroom. He could hear Donghyun and Youngmin in the kitchen chatting while Woojin greeted Daehwi with a welcome back. It felt good to be back. He turned on the light in the bathroom and wiped off the remaining condensation. His dark circles were bad and his complexion was really pale, but he felt better, lighter. It’s time to come clean. 

After getting dressed, he made his way to the living room where Woojin and Daehwi were watching some drama. Daehwi had a pout while Woojin had a smile, probably meaning it was Woojin’s choice. He cleared his throat and both looked up. The smile on Woojin’s face got bigger and he rushed off the couch.

“Hyung! Welcome back, I didn’t hear you come in. I missed you! Did you have a good outing?” Woong only giggled and patted his head. “I was only gone for a few hours Woo. I missed you too. Yeah I had a fun time with Hyunggu. What are you guys watching?” Woojin pulled him to the couch and made him sit down. “It’s called Extracurricular! We just started it, the trailer seemed really interesting. Hwi didn’t want to watch it, but I won rock, paper, scissors.” 

They watched two episodes before Daehwi yelled out, “Why would he do that?! Is he stupid?!” Woojin looked smug, “I thought you didn’t want to watch this. The younger only rolled his eyes before crossing his arms and leaning back. 

“Dinner! Woojin set the table.” The mentioned only groaned and paused the show. “We’ll finish after dinner. Don’t you dare press play.” All three got up and made their way to the table, Woojin walking further into the kitchen to get dishes and utensils. Daehwi and Woong sat next to each other while Donghyun and Youngmin brought the food and set them on the table. Donghyun smiled at Woong as a greeting. 

Youngmin took his seat at the head, Donghyun and woojin following suit next to each other. “Let’s eat well!” Immediately, the boys dug in, a satisfied look on all their faces. “Thanks Donghyun hyung!” “Thank you!” Woong looked around taking in the atmosphere. Everyone had smiles with their cheeks full. Youngmin had a fond look towards the younger ones. They made eye contact, the leader throwing him an eyebrow wiggle causing a warmth in his chest. Woojin and Daehwi were bickering over who was the best character so far and Donghyun was watching anime on his phone. 

“I am so full.” Woojin pat his tummy. “But there’s still room for ice cream. Let’s go get some. Youngmin hyung it’s your turn to pay.” The other boys agreed, slowly getting up and getting their phones and Youngmin his wallet. The walk to the convenience store was short, it was down the street next to the park.

“You guys can either get individual ones or big ones we can share and save for later. I didn’t bring a lot of money.” Youngmin looked at all of them like they were small children. They opted for the latter option since it seemed worth more. Woong usually didn’t care about flavors, but he really wanted cotton candy. It reminded him of the clouds he saw earlier in the day. He quietly stepped towards his leader and tugged on his sleeve. “Hyung can we get the cotton candy flavor?” The leader smiled and nodded gesturing towards the ice cream. Woong felt blood rush to his cheeks and he grabbed the tub, standing to the side to wait. 

They ended up with three tubs of ice cream, cotton candy, vanilla, and strawberry. Daehwi rushed ahead and turned around. “Let’s eat it at the park! It still feels nice out and we don’t have a schedule for the next three days.” How could they refuse their maknae? “I’ll race you!” Woojin took off before Daehwi could yell at him. The youngest cursed, running after the elder trying not to trip on his laces. The other three taking their time, Donghyun swinging the bag of the cold treats. Woong was in his head thinking of how to start their talk for later. “Are you feeling better hyung?” Woong looked up and nodded. Donghyun smiled and made a noise of content. 

It wasn’t long before they reached the park seeing a triumphant Woojin and an out of breath Daehwi. Donghyun placed a bag on the bench and got out the spoons offering them to everyone. Youngmin and Woojin sat on the concrete while the other three sat on the bench. Woong turned towards Donghyun to get some of the strawberry and saw Daehwi looking at him, cocking an eyebrow. He was reminded of their little talk earlier. He stuck his spoon in the tub clearing his throat, gaining the attention of the others. 

“So...you guys probably want to know what’s been up with me the past few weeks.” There was a collective nod. “To put it short, I don’t know. It feels like I’ve kind of been at a stand still. Numb in a way, just watching myself on auto pilot.” He felt his eyes water and gave a wet chuckle. He felt Donghyun rub his back for comfort. 

“It’s been empty in a way. I felt like I didn't really deserve to be here as a member. I don’t know really. I’ve just felt out of place.” The first tears dropped down on his hands. “I just don’t want to hold any of you guys back. Being stuck in my head has already caused so many issues. I know I’ve been lacking lately, but I’ve been trying my best, I promise! Please don’t hate me.” 

Woong doesn’t know what response he was expecting, but a group hug wasn’t one of them. He felt his heart swell and his mind was overwhelmed with emotion. The breath he held in escaped his lungs and he sobbed. Everything just came out. The tears were flowing and soaking into someone’s shirt. The pain in his cries were heard. He doesn’t know how long he cried for or how ridiculous they all looked as a group of guys huddled over one person, but it made him feel better.

Youngmin pulled away, holding the crying boy’s face in his hands. “We don’t hate you. We can’t hate you. You don’t know how much we actually love you Jeon Woong. You are part of this family. We cherish and appreciate you so much.” He couldn’t help but start sobbing again at his leader’s words, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging tightly. There were sounds of cooing all around him. 

Daehwi kneeled in front of Woong. “Hyung’s right! We love you so much. We wouldn’t be AB6IX without you. We want you here. ABNEW want you here. We appreciate everything you do for us. You aren’t lacking either! You’re perfect the way you are.” He could see Donghyun and Woojin nodding along. “I know me and Donghyun hyung aren't the best at words, but Hwi and Youngmin hyung already said what we wanted to say. If you truly feel you’re lacking we’re here to help you! We really do want you here. I love you hyung.” Woong reached out to hug the younger, his crying reduced to sniffles. Donghyun opened his arms expressing how much he too loved the older. He felt it all. He felt all their love.

“Thank you guys for all being here with me. Thank you for being my family. Thank you for just everything. I love you all too.” Woong wiped his eyes and put on a big smile. “Now let’s go play! I want someone to push me on the swing.” The guys laughed and got up to do so. Youngmin softly pushed him as the others ran around the playground, going down the small slides. “Please don’t get stuck! I wouldn’t know to explain it to manager hyung!”

_Things are always better, as long as I have you guys._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I'm officially done with school and now I'm out for the summer. I hope no one has lost interest in this work, but I'll try to update regularly. It was kind of rushed I admit that. You're free to leave requests for what you want me to write I kind of need ideas.


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